Help!!!!!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Red	05 May 2003
Im not really too sure what to say in this - this is my first post and to be honest i have never really been into anything like this before, but i have a slight situation that i need some advice on and i thought that this was probably the best place to ask. I had never had my cards read untill last week when someone that i didnt really know did them for me. When she explained my cards to me there was a card that she refused to explain and said only that it was a bad card and it is really bothering me what it means. The card was of a stalk i think - the sky behind it was very dark and it was perched on sticks i know that this is vague but does anyone have a clue what this means???? i would be so grateful if someone could help, i have been reading through some of the posts and i have decided that this is something i would like to get into but there are so many decks ect i just dont know where to start! any help would be great, thanks **Red

littleneptune	05 May 2003
Red--I would have to look at a number cards to try to track down your particular image, but I would like to say off the bat that a good card reader would never tell you a card you get is "bad" and then not explain its' meaning...I have to question a card reader who would this. Relax.

Khatruman	05 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Red The card was of a stalk i think - the sky behind it was very dark and it was perched on sticks i know that this is vague but does anyone have a clue what this means???? i have decided that this is something i would like to get into but there are so many decks ect i just dont know where to start! First of all, hello Red, and welcome to aeclectic, which, in my opinion, is the best site to find helpful and knowledgeable people. You might want to formally introduce yourself in the New Members forum and to tell us a little about yourself and your interests. Your inquiry is a bit difficult considering your vague descriptions, but it is understandable, being that you are new to tarot and didn't know what to look for. I would suggest browsing through some decks listed on this site to see if any images at least strike a similarity to what you saw. I am not sure what to make of "Stalk". My first inclination was some kind of wand (which is a suit of the tarot) and actually I was thinking of the Ace of Wands, since this "stalk" seemed to be the focal image. Perhaps some idea of what the other cards were that your reader gave you might help us track the deck of lead you to places that may help with your answers. I would also suggest taking a look at Thirteen's Tarot Basics to get an idea of what tarot is about. Keep in mind, tarot is a study, which, like any study, requires a slow learning process. Many newcomers mistakenly look for a quick easy answer: i.e. "this card means...." Just as a good piece of philosophic or symbolic literature has its shades of interpretation and meaning, so does tarot. I hope your journey is fun, and I look forward to seeing you around the boards. Peace

Diana	05 May 2003
Red: I agree with littleneptune here. This card reader sounds like a fake to me. She probably didn't know what the card meant, so it was easier to say "it's a bad card" than to admit that she was unable to interpret it. There is no such thing as a bad card. The Tarot is a teacher. It helps us overcome obstacles in our life, and shows us how to deal with the unpleasant things and how to enjoy to the fullest the good things. Do you have a Tarot deck? Then why don't you do a reading with the question you had asked that reader and post it in the Your Readings section? You can go to the Tarot Spreads section and find a spread that you find fits in with your question. Don't choose a too complicated spread - find one which you think you can relate to. Then concentrate on your question, shuffle your cards, do the spread, and we will help you interpret it. If you can't find a suitable spread, then ask for our help. We'll come up with a good one for you! Oh and by the way, welcome to Aeclectic! :) P.S. : Khatruman posted at the same time as I did. I agree with all he said as well!

HOLMES	05 May 2003
ah red,, worry not about anything like this for in truth it is really nothing but a study of cards as a reflectiong to understand ourselves in the cosmos :O) and when one reads our cards for us they act as a mirror reflecting ourselves at us. this sounds really old school card reading here, oh i can't tell you that it is bad.. there is two schools of thought on that, one takes out the bad cards, for a person who read for me it was the devil card, the death card, the tower, and the swords they took out. so every reading would be "postive " the other way is the person didnt' know what they were doing, and saw the devil as the actual devil, death as actual death, ten of swords as being hurt and left for dead, the tower as one house falling burning down. WHICH THEY DON'T EH, (canadian here eheh) that my friend is the most important lesson you learn, and one fear about the tarot leaves as well. nothing comes to mind about the card described though , you can start in books and media to look at the top five books, 1. do you just want to know about the tarot , or are you thinking of reading ? 2. do you want to know about the symbolism on the tarot, there are many routes to take as a beginner ,, i will just share where i started and how it help me. i started on the rider waite deck, as a result every deck i read i relate it to that deck, other start on the toth, and others totally pick a new modern tarot for their basis. i read eden gray books , the tarot revealed for 3.99 or 2.99 from a used book store, but there is a tons of tarot books out there, 78 degrees, tarot for yourself , tarot for beginners, beginners tarot tarot for dummies by amber jayanit, illustrated tarot book by rachael pollack. while some others here may suggest getting a notebook, a deck and writing down insigths about each picture and such til it is full, and then comparing it to a book i suggest getting 78 degrees, tarot for yourself mystical tarot by rosemary guiley, and about two more beginners books, (a look at our aeclectic book list, and a book list over here at tarot passages, (enter that into the search lesson, ) they have books list divide up into beginners, intermediate and nice to have. then you can get into more intermediate if that is your thing, tarot and the tree of life, every day wisdom in the minor arcana, the forthcoming tarot court cards book qabalistic tarot astrology and tarot, numerology and tarot, psycolology tarot, archtypes and tarot symbols and tarot spiritual tarot, tarot and mediations, there are lots of tarot books out there and tarot decks. if you want to be sure to get a tarot deck that you will really like, you can look at the aeclectic tarot list and find who pictures appeal to you make a list, and then read reviews if there is one, . and do the same as well from tarot passages. (sound like work but there is many variety of tarot from collages, to comics book styel to renassiance, ) (and you want to be sure you start off well,, and a good consumer researches the products and options after all ) sometimes one just has to walk to the store, (we got a big book stores with a comphresnive tarot section called chapters ) or even better a metaphysical store like genesis in winnipeg ) take a hundred dollars or such, pick up a tarot deck and book set, and another book on tarot, (pikc one that appeals to you, a workbook style like tarot for yourself sometimes ins't for everyone, and a text book style like 78 degrees (make sure to get the two in one set if you do ) isn't as well it is about individual tastes ) or if want go to your libary and look at tarot books :O) , and while you there get a book on numerology, astrology , kabbalah , and others lol, ok ok start at the tarot for now should have two or three there for you to pick from and study . then you have a nice free , resource to get a basis in as well. edited to add, eheh i was writing this before little neptune responded and at the same time as diana and khaurftum eheh

DarkElectric	05 May 2003
Hi Red :) As far as what the card may have been, the guess I'm going to venture is that it was "The Tower". HOLMES, and the other people who replied to you in this thread gave you the real story. I agree with the opinion that there are no bad cards, but there are bad readers. It is also my opinion that you encountered one of those. Hence, your understandable nervousness. I'm glad you found Aeclectic, nobody will pull that crap on you here. Good to meet ya, DE

Red	06 May 2003
Thanks guys you have given me so much to think about. I dont actually own my own deck yet but im going to as advised have a look through and buy one which i think i can relate to. HOLMES post arose a few questions i think that maybe i should explain a littl further as i have calmed down a little since my post. It was strange circumstances that my cards were read under, i had only met the girl an houre earlier and we were trying to work through a problem that she had that i unfortunatly became involved in and while we were chatting she offered to read my cards, i asked no questions at all i think that she must have been doing them for the situation that we were in with referance to a man (she thought he was cheeting with me but we were mates all that stuff!) the cards i got were - a boat, a basket of flowers, a man on hourse back, a snake, this stalk, a garden and a man. some of the cards were dealt upside down which from reading another discussion sounds complicated but she said it was all to do with a short journey and that a relationship would be brought into the open it was mad and its really playing on my mind. This is why i have decided i would like to read myself to save these problems inthe future, the advice that you have all given me is excellant im so grateful all i need to do is work out these cards now (which i gather is pretty much impossible!) Anyhoo away to get on with my "research!" :) *Red

allibee	06 May 2003
Hi Red Great to meet you and to echo what has already been said seems like there was a case of ineptitude going on there on behalf of the reader. Alternatively, from your explanation, a case of someone bending the cards for their own benefit I'm sorry to say. There are no definative meanings to each card, as you will find, there are nuances and shades of grey and it all depends on the question and the rest of the cards. So to say: this card is so and so, this card is something else and this card is 'bad' is very amateur in my humble opinion. No responsible reader would say that, I hope. If you lay a certain card and another comes next to it, it may mean something else completely different if another card may instead have been laid next to it. Was there a coherent story that emerged, or just this statement, that statement and another statement? (The boat card sounds like the six of swords to me, by the way. Where the journey is often metaphorical, an inner journey, not physical. Men on Horseback can be many and varied depending on the deck, and can refer to messages/action OR people, then they can just as well be feminine or masculine, and then they can mean many shades of grey depending on the other cards) Well, you are certainly in the right place to start out. If you see Aeclectic as the map, we are more than happy to be signposts for you. Best wishes Allison

firemaiden	06 May 2003
I think, as was said earlier, the "stalk" was most likely the Ace of Wands. There are good and bad ways to interpret everycard, depending on the whim of the reader, the context of the other cards, the question, and the look on your face. The Ace of Wands could be a very good card. Strong, positive passionate energy.

bighairymonster	06 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Red the cards i got were - a boat, a basket of flowers, a man on hourse back, a snake, this stalk, a garden and a man. :) *Red i don't think they're tarot cards. they're madam leomard's (whatever her name is) fortune telling cards. I've got a set of these but I never like to use them coz I can never understand them.

HudsonGray	06 May 2003
You know, it's possible she was a beginning reader--did you ask how long she'd been using tarot? Several cards always jump out as 'bad' to new readers: Tower, Devil, 9 and 10 of Swords (or just about the entire suite of Swords actually), etc. Once you learn more about them, you find out there's always something positive about the 'bad' ones and always something there to tone down the 'good' ones as well. If she was new at it, I can understand her focus on the reading. It doesn't do you any good service, but at least it would explain things. A 'good' reader doesn't try to weird out the person they're doing a reading for. And doesn't leave a card unexplained. They try to put everything into a constructive way of thought so the problem the reading is on can actually be addressed to the best of your ability. That's a 'good' reader.

galadrial	06 May 2003
I'm thinking that maybe if you have another reading done, by a more reputable reader (say, someone on this site:-), you will be able to put this incomplete reading behind you; because in my experience, when the cards have something to say to you they will say it again and again until you get it. So you needn't feel you are missing something even if you never know the exact cards she used.

Diana	06 May 2003
galadrial makes an excellent point here. So take heart!

Rhiannon	06 May 2003
Hi there Red! I think big and hairy might be right... here is what the fortune telling cards look like: http://www.aeclectic.net/lenormand/index.html look familiar at all? Good luck with your research and welcome! R :)

The Help!!!!! thread was originally posted on 05 May 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.